2Y41D: Car Sick

We love to visit the Granparents.  Now that we are in CT, travel time is only 2.5 hours instead of the 5 hours it took from NY.

OK, it's supposed to take 2.5 hours.

Unless of course there is after Christmas traffic.

And McDonald's.

And a viewing of that Dora The Explorer video he recently purchased.

Each in itself would have been fine.  But mixed together:

The stopping and starting of the traffic
+
The full belly of greasy, high fat, fries and chicken nuggets (no judging please)
+
Watching a video
=
...Car Sick


Oh yes, half way through the video big D says "All Done," which is his way of saying "thanks I've had enough now" to just about anything he is doing/eating.  Odd since he really wanted to play/watch.

Did I mention that we were 45 minutes from Boston?  Too far to turn back and too close to stop anywhere for the night?

He coughs a bit, and has a small spit-up. Odd for him.

I take off my seatbelt to help him clean up  when he erupts.

Wave after wave after wave. 

We're talking french fry projectiles a hurricane would have been proud of.

It took everything in my power not to engage my empathetic puke response.  I was quite proud of myself.

I had that boy unlatched and leaning forward in a split second.

Relativly quickly  Brian finds a safe place to pull over ( which happened to be the on-ramp to another highway) and pulls off the road, then off into the grass.

There is no way that much...stuff, could possible have been inside that boy. 

Thankfully we had a load of dirty laundry in the back ( we were going to the grandparents after all)  so we had towels handy.  Dirty, soaked clothes were strewn all over the side of the road mingled together with baby wipes, towels, car seat parts, and a diaper.

The two of us had big D naked warpped in a blanket rocking him to calm down while both his seat and the back of the drivers seat were being wiped down.  It was...gross.

Honestly, I was surprised noone stopped to see if we were OK.  We were of course, but I suppose the says of helping thy neighbor only count if you wern't in a rush to go somewhere slowly.

Anyway...

With most of the major damage taken care of we loaded him back up, and cracked the windows.

You know the first thing he reached for when he sat back down? 

The remainder of his half eaten (pre-eaten) chicken nugget that was sitting on his make shift table next to the seat.

Go figure.

PS there are no pictures of this incident for obvious reasons.

2Y40D: Don't Hug a Cactus at Christmas

Daniel...No, STOP Daniel... DANIEEELLLLLLLL!!!!!

AAHHHHHHHHHHHHHH  

This is what you too would have heard if you were at our cousins house for Christmas Day. 

The food was great.
Seeing family was wonderful.
Getting and giving presents was a plus...

Hugging the cactus was not in the cards.

How were we to know, or even notice?  Parents of little ones know how difficult it is to go to a home that is not childproof. 

It's not the persons fault, it's our own fault for not surveying the area and looking out for potential disasters; stairs, basement doors, chemicals, low lying glass trinkets, and, now added to that list - Cacti.

Did you know to look out for them?

He went face first.

The prickers were quickly taken out, and thankfully he didn't get any in his eyes.  Just a few scratches.

The green lines point to cactus scratches:

But the moral of this tale; Don't hug a cactus boys and girls.

2Y32D: The Tree...A.D. (After Daniel) and Rainbow Cookies

From this post forward, the term "after Daniel"  will be known as "A.D,"  and "before Children" will now be known as "B.C." (clever ey?)

For example, my computer BC had all of its' keys. AD, I am now missing 1/3 of them.

Just a couple of days ago I posted on our first tree.  It was sweet, lovely, and the few ornaments  it had were nicely spread out over the entire six feet of it soft green fingers.

Today, our tree has 5 fewer shiny pieces  and a noticeably uneven dispersment. (is that a word?)

The top looks great!

The tree BC:

Then we were given some more little balls to hang:

"Tickles!"
Daniel like to lean into the tree because it tickles him, good thing the needles aren't sharp!

Today this is what it looks like:

Since he can't reach any more ornaments, he's going for the lights and the power. This is supposed to be fun, right?

Presents will show up at night more for their protection and less for aesthetics.

In other news, the cookies we made yesterday came out GREAT!!  They were easy, fun and taste deelicious!

RAINBOW COOKIES:

If you're interested:

Ingredients:
2 tsp almond extract
1 box (18.5 +/- oz) Yellow cake mix prepared according to box
1tsp red food color
1tsp yellow food color
1tsp green food color
1 jar of fresh ( if you can get it) raspberry jam (I like it with seeds -  from the farmers market) melted
1 cup (6ish oz) milk-chocolate chips ( you can  use semi sweet if you prefer)

1- Preheat oven to 350. Stir in almond extract.
2- divide batter into three parts using one food color in each bowl
3-coat 3 separate 9 x 11 backing dishes with cooking spray, parchment paper/wax paper and again with spray.  If you dont have three, use one over and over.  We had 2 and one 9 x 9 - use what you have.
4- cook until a clean toothpick can be inserted in cake with pulling any batter out with it.  When done, pull out of oven and cool completely.
5 - Place red layer top side down in  cookie sheet/large cutting board and coat put about a half a cup melted jam in a nice thin layer ( I like a thin  layer, you can add more if you like) Put the green layer on the top side down with another shmear of jam and top it all with the yellow layer.
6-with one of the discarded papers, cover the top layer and put one of the pans on top and lightly push the layers together.  Refrigerate for about an hour.
7-Melt the chocolate ( I like a double boiler kind of melt, but be careful not to scorch it if you don't)
9-in pretty swirls coat the top of the cake of cookies.  Cut into 1 x 2 inch cookies.  Or if you're like us, you leave it in a cake and cut pieces as you go...up to you. Cover and chill until ready to serve.

Enjoy!

2Y31D: OOPS!!

*sigh*

WOW.

Today was a messy day.

It was a good day, but a messy day.

We made home made play-dough, which is really quite easy:

1/2 Cup Salt
1/2 Cup Water
1 Cup Flour
opt. Food coloring.

Now, I put the optional food coloring for a reason... it's messy. Let me show you:

OOPS!  In the future, I suggest putting all the ingredients in a zip-lock and knead away. Tell me how it goes, if I don't get to it first.

We did have a great time, and the first discovery of playdough was fabulous and fun:

I mentioned the great table we got, right? We ordered it through a furniture site, and came a tad bit marred. When I called the company and showed them the pictures of the nicks they said "This is unacceptable" and promptly mailed us a new table.

They said "we don't care what you do with the old table, we're sending you a new on."

Nice. Now THAT is customer service. Lipper International: Highly recommended.

Oh, right, the reason I was telling you about the table was because it has become the arts & crafts table. We color there and, as of today, play with play-dough.

Things get a little out of hand here with crayons.

Not sure why.

But after5-10 minutes of some scribbling, some eating, it turns into some throwing and some running off and burying in/around/behind/next to his bed.

Usually I manage to collect all vestiges of ye olde crayolas (which are nothing like their predecessors.)

I must have missed one or two this time.

TADAAAH!! Wall Art.

Grrrrrrr

Luckily, we learned that a little baking soda on a scouring sponge mixed with a little elbow grease gets it right off.

Somehow, both kids were asleep my 8pm tonight.

We celebrated with a large glass of wine and some cookie baking.

By the way, good friends are few a far between. Treasure the ones you have.

It truly takes a village.

2Y30D: Look Ma, I can buy things online, too!

First, it was an 888 sex hotline number.

At least we didn't get charged for that call.

Now, things have gotten a bit out of hand.

I got a Kindle Fire from my parents (awesome present), and yes, I love it.

There is a huge problem though, and I found this one out the hard way:

NO F-N PARENTAL CONTROLS!

Oh yes boys and girls, if you own a Kindle Fire, anyone can access your Amazon account and make purchases. The only security you can add is a padlock - if set, you need a screen password. Nice feature, but not enough.

BUT, once in... there is what they call "One-Click Purchasing" Which you can turn off. However, that only means it is a 2-click purchase. For a 2 year old who presses any rectangle with a line around it...well, you can see where this is going.

Big D took my Kindle and, without help from me, turned it on, opened to videos and started watching Dora The Explorer (I didn't have it loaded).

Once the video was over, it seems there is an option to BUY the video. There is also and option to BUY THE ENTIRE SEASON!!!!

The email I got a minute later confirmed a $9.99 purchase for the entire 4th season of Dora.

Yay me, Happy Yannuchranzer!! (Yule, Channukah, Christmas, Kwanza, Winter)

2Y28D: Holiday Mash-up Family style

We've been together for almost eight years and married for 4 of it.

This is our first tree.

I never had a tree growing up, we lit the beautiful lights of the Menorah. Brian did, but never since leaving mom and dad. Together, we don't have many ornaments, but the ones we do have are sentimental. A majority were given to us by the parents of A's Godfather (who also married us!)

Big D was awed by all the trees:

So far so good, nothing has been ripped off the tree:

Our marriage combines religions, but neither of us is very religious. We have a personal relationship and belief that we respect in each other, and others.

With what we had, this is how we topped our tree:

We love it, and really, that's the only thing that matters.

2Y27D: The Computer pt 4

I'm getting used to this.

But I don't have to like it.

You would think by now that I would have learned not to leave the computer open when I walk out of the room.

Actually, I do!

The problem is that D. has learned how to open the computer. The latest attack to the computer from the little fingers looks like this:

The Solution:

Amelia's God Mother has just given me a wireless keyboard, so I can lay the keyboard atop this one and type away. Yet I still need to use the mouse from the laptop.

It's lovely.

To type, I have a rig that looks like this:

I know Santa isn't going to bring me a new computer this year, but that just means that next year the computers will be faster than a speeding bullet, more powerful than a locomotive...well, you know the rest.

2Y28D: Activity Swap

It's not going to get any warmer outside for a few months.

As it gets colder, the odds of me taking the kids outside get slimmer and slimmer.

Sadly.

So, I have decided to start a toddler activity swap. Mainly here in CT, but we can do it at a distance if everyone involved is willing to shoulder shipping costs.

Depending on how many families are involved will depend on how many groups of 10 we'll have.

Below is the letter I send out to families:


Dearest Moms, Dads, and caregivers of young ones,

I have an idea that you might be interested in. Now this might be over the top and kind of farfetched, but it just might work if we give it enough time.

As the winter approaches, there will be fewer and fewer chances to take the kids outside. We'll need activities to do at home...lots of them.

Here's where my idea comes into play. If we can get a bunch of interested parties each to make a self contained, age appropriate activity (say 18mo - 3yrs ) +/- that fits in a gallon zip-lock bag, then trade bags of activities with all parties. We'll each walk away a box of new activities!!

For instance, if 10 families participate, each family makes 10 copies of a fully contained low-cost activity and brings/mails them to our to per-determined place. We exchange activities. Then, when we leave, we will each have 10 ready-to-go activities!

Local families can meet here in New Haven, but out of town-ers can mail your activities to me and we can figure out how best to get the new sets back to you.

Sound good??

I'd love some feedback.

Feel free to forward this to any families you know. I'd like to set a get together date for this sometime in Mid-January.

Please email me: Rachel.rg.gordon@gmail.com or reply to this thread. If you do not want to receive emails about this please message me and I'll do my best to get your address off the thread.

2Y25D: STUCK!! ( in a book)

It's passed his bedtime.

By almost 3 hours.

He sits on his daddy's lap, reading one of his favorite truck books.

Daddy is frustrated. Mommy is frustrated.

He pulls the board book right up to his face so his nose is right in the crack...

...and starts to cry.

He cries louder.

Mommy: "Daniel Bubba, are you stuck?"

Daddy: "You think he's stuck?"

Mommy: "Yes, HE thinks he's stuck"

Daniel: continues to cry...

Daddy: Gently pulls the book back off his face. "Were you stuck? All better! I found you!"

Daniel: Stops crying.

Truly, we are all tired. But Damn, that was adorable and funny at the same time.

2D24D: To Sleep or Not To Sleep?

Now THAT is the question!


To sleep, or not to sleep, that is the question:
Whether 'tis Nobler in the mind to suffer
The pains and tears of outrageous teething,
Or to take a nap against a night of troubles,
And by opposing let them sleep: to nap, to sleep
No more; and by a sleep, to say we end
The heart-ache, and the tears surely to come an hour before bedtime
Those screams is akin to? 'Tis a frustration
Devoutly to be wished. To nap to sleep,
To stay awake, perchance to Dream; Ay, there's the rub.


Staying up late when he naps is harder on me then on him. If he naps, he won't go don until almost eleven. Then wants to sleep in until almost 9am.

If he doesn't nap he melts down around 4:30 - 5:00 and aches to go to sleep. If I push him he'll fall asleep at 7-7:30 and then awaken at 3am wanting to play.

Then he'll sleep in, take a long nap, and not sleep until much later.

I can't win.

I don't know what to do.

2Y23D: Best sugar Cookie Recipe!

Though not too cold today, it rained.

All day.

ALL DAY!

Being cooped up on a mild but rainy day can yield one of two things: 1) a lethargic, rain induced coma like state or 2) A wound up, chaotic frenzy day replete with wall bouncing, and couch hurtling.

Guess which one happened at our house?

Trying to keep focus, we played some games and ultimately attempted to make cookies.

It was, all in all, a pretty successful time:

Just after we put the dough in the fridge to cool, he decided he was going to pretend to go to sleep...

I find that fingerprints make the cookies taste better:

...and once they are cool we will ice them.

Then clean-up time:

And finally, bath time.

All said and done, these were the best Sugar cookies ever!!!! Perfect for cut-outs.


Prep Time:
20 Min
Cook Time:
8 Min
Ready In:
3 Hrs

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups butter, softened
2 cups white sugar
4 eggs
2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon Almond extract
5 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
powdered sugar for rolling and dusting

Directions
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).
1. In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugar until smooth. Beat in eggs, almond, and vanilla. Stir in the flour, baking powder, and salt. Cover, and chill dough for at least one hour (or overnight).
2. Roll out cold dough on powdered sugar surface 1/4 to 1/2 inch thick. Cut into shapes with any cookie cutter. Place cookies 1 inch apart on parchment paper covered cookie sheets...it's easier!
Bake 7 to 9 minutes in preheated oven until just slightly darkened on the edges. Cool completely.

Try not to break too many so you'll "just have to eat them"

2Y22D: L..M....N.....O......Q.....R.....

What's missing from this string of letters?

H...I...J...K...L...M...N...O...Q...R...S...T?

The Pee, you say?

That's right.

The Pee.

It's missing from the alphabet because it is ON MY CARPET!!!

Oh yes, this was going to be a post about toddler activities, but it was magically transformed into a fast burst affirming our need to potty train.

...or at least put him in overalls every day so he cant take his pants and diaper off.

Like I said, this is going to be a fun year.

2Y21D: A love-hate relationship.

It was a long day, but aren't they all?

OK, perhaps if I were on a warm sanded beach with foo-froo drinks in bottomless coconut shells always at my side, the day may have gone quicker.

Let's start at the beginning; as I hear tell, it's a very good place to start...

Because they were up so late last night, the boys slept in (yes those are snowman sheets (thanks mom)):

Once up for the day, Mr. IrefuseToEatAnythingThatIsntACarb refused to eat anything and everything I offered for breakfast, I surrendered and gave him more milk. (his favorite food/beverage)

Just a few minutes later he helped himself to a bagel. (surprise, surprise) Now it's not like the bagels were readily available, they were in a tied bag on the table. Nonchalantly he waltzed into the living room with his own breakfast and helped himself to my new, awesome Kindle Fire (thanks mom) Notice a trend here?

When he was done with his bagel, he left it for the elves to clean up:

And now, with a full belly, the children played. OK, so after pulling D off Amelia several times he finally decided to show her his airplanes, it was very sweet while it lasted...

I love to take pictures of my children, as you must have noticed. Since A is so young, the moments they are together are few.

The excersaucer is becoming more of a problem than I thought. D really wants to play in it at the same time A. is in it. Today, I thought they were doing well together.

I took a few pictures.

Things went downhill fast.

I didn't stage this last photo, it all happened so fast.

Perhaps it needs a BAM or BOOM or SLAP in a big Batman bubble star.

Ouch.

OK, A. was only stunned, not hurt...

...this time.

2Y20D: I..Caaan't...HeeeeaaR Yooooou!

There are times when I wish I could tune the kids out:

Too much crying all at the same time added to that sweaty feeling you get when you are 10 minutes passed the danger point of having to go to the bathroom, added to the 5 seconds after the kettle on the stove is done, the four loud beeps telling you that the microwave is done, and of course, the phone that is quiet all day suddenly rings. All of that heaped on top of a large portion of Barney (which if you ask me is just as bad as any of the above on its own.)

All at the same time.

Makes me want to cry and scream and laugh all at once.

How is it that I'm not allowed to shut it all out, but the little human can?

And, once he shuts me out, why does that nasty purple dinosaur still haunt me?

At least he has pants on.

2Y19D: SEX Hotline...only $1.99/min.

I though he would be at least 12, maybe 13 before he called his first sex hotline number. I never would have guessed he would have been two.

Here's how the conversation went:

Brian: "Hey! What? Gimme that!"

Daniel: Runs away waving the phone; jumps and face plants onto our bed.

Brian: "Hey, Rach..."

Me: "ummm yeah?"

Brian: "Daniel just called a sex hotline number!"

Me: "How did he get the number?"

Brian: " Wait, it wasn't like a speed dial number, he just leaned on the 8 key and dialed"

Me: "Are you sure?"

Brian: "I gave the phone to him so he could watch airplanes when I heard a woman's voice. I took the phone as she was saying 'only $1.99/min then 7.99/min for hot one-on-one'... well I hung up the phone so fast. I think I really need to lock the phone."

Daniel: Snatches the phone once again yelling "Aiiiiirplane...aiiiiiirplane!!!!"

Me: " Ummmm Brian?"

Brian:"Yeah yeah.....I'm on it."

The moral of the story boys and girls, is that if you're going to call a sex hotline, make sure your parents are not within earshot of the phone.

2Y18D: Laying round

Nothing is off limits for Big D if he can reach it.

And he can reach everything.

I see other kids his age in homes that are far less toddler proof, and do they have issues like we do? Oh no the don't.

They don't have to attach bookshelves, cabinets and TV's to the wall. They leave tables with lamps around without fear of damage, they can leave pet food on the floor without anyone eating it or trying to feed it to their 3 month old siblings.

Yeah, nothing in our house can be high enough.

Nothing.

He can now climb up on chairs and onto the table.

There are no baby safe locks that keep chairs tucked under the table.

He can climb up on the stereo cabinet (as seen above).

How do I prevent this?

I've been to friends homes who have much less...stuff than we have, and it seems like the thing to do. Purge everything.

Throw it all away.

But you know, it's inevitable, the day after, or even the week after you were so proud of yourself for throwing lots of stuff away, you go looking for that same object.

Tell me I'm wrong...

I can use some tips on how to toddler proof a home for a very active little boy (and soon to be for very active children.)

Also, he has a saline tube in his mouth (that I use to help clear stuffy noses) that he used to "write" all over the cabinet he then wiped up with his body.

Did I mention that I am tired?

2Y17D: Tree lighting ceremony

Tonight was the annual tree lighting ceremony on the Green, the rather large park/green space in the city.

There was a petting zoo with goats, llamas, a camel and a pony.

There were bunnies.

There was an occupy tent city.

There was a dancing frosty the snowman.

And there were hundreds and hundreds of people.

No pictures? You say.

How pretty was the tree? You ask.

To these questions, I say, no...and I dont know.

But why?

Ah yes, first of all big D. Didn't take a nap today. By the time we got out he was already cranky.

By 5 he was in tears.

By 5:30 he was asleep.

Did I mention that it was cold? Or that i was wrangling both kids alone?

So now, at 9pm I should go to sleep knowing he'll be up at 2am for a few hours.

We'll go see the tree this weekend when there will be four of us.

Or not.

I think I'll have some halloween candy

And a drink.

Or two

2Y16D: "STUCK!"

The baby is getting bigger every day. It's time for toys and stimulation that playing peek-a-boo just won't accomplish.

We combined pieces from two different floor play gyms, and it seems that big D. thought it was much more fun than Amelia did.

That's ok, she'll get the hang of it, and perhaps build a few new engrams while at it. True, she isn't learning Mandarin, Spanish, or how to compose, but she's learning something.

I hope.

That's what "they" tell me.

Also we set up the excersaucer thinking A. had enough head control to sit in it.

She loved it! Sure, she can only be in it a couple of minutes, but as she gets stronger and stronger, she'll enjoy it more and more.

It was put in the corner for later when...

You got it, who just can't keep his hands off it?
He remembered it, and went straight over to his favorite toys from it.

I don't have any issues with him staying on the outside, playing with both it and his sister in it.

But he decided he wanted to get in.

So he did.

And he is too big.

So, like everyday, just like his mom, he got stuck:

After removing him several more times, I got tired.

So when he got stuck again, I just watched as he tried to get out on his own.

Note: No children were hurt during the making of these pictures.

That'll teach him!

Sure.

Until tomorrow, when he tries to get into while WHILE Amelia is in it.

2Y15D: Peter and The Wolf

"Watch Wolf" "Watch Wolf!"

Screw Barney.

Suck it "All About...whatever '80's things you want to talk about"

Up Yours Dora!

We've discovered Peter and the Wolf. This version is a short Polish-British-Norwegian model animation film released in 2006. It's fabulous, I'd love to see a live performance of Prokofiev's music to it.

Then again who am I kidding? I know he'll ask for Barney after we watch this another 2 or 3 times.

For now, it's nice, and I'm going to pretend like it will last forever...

2Y14D: The Great Escape

I wish this morning were as exciting as this movie. Perhaps it's similar in that instead of an escape proof camp, I have what I thought was an escape proof apt.

I don't.

It was bound to happen, I suppose.

It was only time until he figured out how to open to front screen door, and that time came today.

Just a minute after Brian had left for school.

I thought he ( Brian) had run back into the house to grab something and run back out. So I said "HI, that was fast!"

No crying from Big D asking for his dad.

I heard the door close.

No Daniel.

I run to the door, run out, and who is there just standing in the driveway?

Yeah.

Heart Attack.

Lock your doors.

Nothing is toddler proof.

2Y11D: Need a Tissue?

As an adult, you can take care of your cold in any number of ways; OTC medicines, whiskey Hot Toddy's, et al. You can even blow your nose whenever and as often as you like.

When you are 2, it's not that easy.

I hear, it's not the best - well, you're really not supposed to give kids whiskey, or even OTC cold remedies (now-a-days "they" don't even want to give kids meds until they are six!)

Yet still their noses run.

And Run.

And run.

If you're lucky, you can get them to blow into a tissue.

I'm not that lucky.

Perhaps once an hour or so I can get Big D. to blow into a tissue. If only that were the only time his nose ran. Alas, it is not.

All other times, he has "trails"; beautiful, clear, snail trails of boogers that will run down his nose, around his mouth onto his chin and then drip right off his chin without a batted eye.

You'd think that would bother him.

It doesn't.

Today I left a box of tissues out long with grocery bag with dirty ones right next to a squirt bottle of hand sanitizer. We were going to be neat and clean and not get the baby sick.

No one likes a sick baby.

Yet now the baby is sick, too.

For her, the best thing I can do is a what I call "baby neti."

This uncomfortable thing for her requires some saline (warmed to body temp) a large spit cloth/towel and a nasal aspirator.

I turn her on her side with her head facing down a bit, and squirt the warmed saline in one nostril. It comes out the other generally speaking, but it's important to make sure her head is down so she doesn't swallow or choke on it. The gently use the aspirator and get as much as you can.

She hates it, but it works.

No fun there.

---

Back to big D, who is...was watching "All About Trucks" for the umpteenth Time...

He finds the tissues which I left a little too close to the edge of the counter, and before I can get to him, he has torn out every single tissue. And you know what that little genius angel did?

He finally blows his nose.

Into the world biggest tissue.

I guess that's something.

2Y10D: happy thanksgiven

When I think of thanksgiving, I think of family.

Family is not just mom and dad, grandparents, siblings and pets. A family is a group of two or more who share a deep genuine care for and about each other. Many times a persons chosen family is a closer knit group than blood relatives.

Some may disagree with this, but I strongly believe that just because you are born kin, doesn't automatically make you family.

If family were gold, I 'd be a very wealthy woman. Though genealogically speaking, my family tree is as small as Charlie Brown's, I have cousins, aunts, uncles, and friends all of whom i call my family and all of whom share one thing in common; they are not related to me. Not even a small branch on my tree can claim them.

And so, to explain, I say this: I may have a stumpy family tree, but I have a beautiful, colorful family garden.

For my family young and old, I am thankful.

For good food in abundance, I am thankful (and a bit guilty and gluttonous)

For friends near and far, new and long lasting, I am thankful.

And for Tv shows that keep my son's attention without me, high capacity nighttime diapers,and the hope that both children go to sleep hassle free by eight, I am thankful in advance.

Happy thanksgiving to all, And to all a good night.

2Y9D: Rain & The Computer pt.3

Ah rain.  It's good for flowers, fields, and filling up the reservoirs.

But you know what it's not good for?  Two- year old toddlers who trash Tupperware cabinets,  good temperaments, and the fast passage of time.  It seemed it was 9:30am for at least 4 hours today.  And by 9:30, it was already a very long day.

And it was cold.  Very very cold, and very very wet.  So taking the kids out, unless it was really necessary was just not in the cards.

However, rain is good for one thing, making you sleepy; and for  first time in 2 days big D took a nap. Actually, for the first time ever, all three of us took a nap.  It's a good thing too, because headaches, children, and rain do not mix well.

This afternoon, (which was so dark it seemed like night), I left my already sad computer open to change yet another diaper ( I do this quite often throughout the day) I came back to this:

My typing is getting worse, but my knowledge and memory of where the keys are is getting better.  Perhaps this is the new way to learn how to type...perhaps not.

On the plus side, I did some baking - ok, I'm currently doing some baking for Thanksgiving tomorrow.  It'll be really nice to spend some time with the Grandparents - though tiring as it can be, there is no end to the love they share.

For family, we are very thankful.

2Y8D: The Dentist

This what you get from the pediatric dentist after your visit.  Once you get to the end...which might take a while. 

For Daniel, it was especially traumatic since just recently a man in a coat, in an unknown office, with bright lights,  held him down and did a little more than just looked in his nose and mouth.

The poor kid screamed and clung to me for dear life.  No way was this guy getting anywhere near his mouth.

And so, after he calmed a bit, I held him facing me on my lap and laid him down backwards into the lap of the dentist.  I held his arms against his screaming and flailing as that guy just did his thing; looked, cleaned, brushed and gave him a fluoride treatment.

Good thing he got a great check-up - no cavities!

While there, I asked if he would look at my daughter just to confirm that she was in fact getting teeth, and not just odd white things in her mouth.

The dentist confirmed that my not yet 4 month old had two emerged canines, two more just below the surface, one molar just below the surface, and EVERY TOOTH between them on top ready to come down.  White dots along her entire gum line!!!  This child will not nurse until she is 18 months (like my son) it's time for a bottle of half and half - half formula, half from the tap.

It's not all that bad

"Kisses Amelia" in a sing song voice, he leans over and gives her some love.

The first week of his second year third year of his life started out with an explosion.

But it isn't all that bad.  Sometimes, like this afternoon, he does something that just melts my heart.

Then seconds later, rips his pants and diaper off and goes barreling through the house.  (Sorry, no baby parts and pieces pictures...he might read this one day)

To burn energy and get fresh air, we go to the park.  And,  though chilly, today was a beautiful day:

The more energy he burns the better, especially since he didn't nap today.

Miss Amelia didn't do too much running, but she was pretty cute.

Yet as much fun as we had,  by the time we got home, we were missing 1 shoe and 2 socks.  I found the shoe, but I didn't find the socks.  Perhaps tomorrow I'll retrace our steps.  The worst part about losing these particular socks, is that they were a mismatched pair to begin with, the others are in the laundry.  *sigh.

He fell asleep at 6pm, so you know at 3am he'll be up and ready to play...I should go to sleep myself.

UPDATE-  I WAS RIGHT!!  That stinker  woke up at 3am and played until 4:30.  Wide awake.  Miss Amelia was awakened by the crashing of D's dump-truck into the cabinets...or was it the screaming and crying when he dropped his ambulance (that he got at the ER the other day) behind our bed? Either way, just as he was settling down, she woke up and wanted breakfast. 

It's a good thing I went to sleep early.  Wonder what today holds for us?

2Y8D: HOLY SH*T

I thought it was me.

I, however, thought I sprayed the Fabreeze.

Why then, was the smell getting stronger, and how did my son get chocolate pudding all over his hands?

Wait, I didn't give him chocolate pudding today!  Holy SH*T!

Literally.

Gross.

Really, truly, unquestionably... gross.

My angel did his business, then, I can only suppose, wanted to make sure it was still there.  I'm here to testify that yes indeed, it was still there. 

After the appropriate diaper change, it only took 30 minutes or so to get the evidence either put in the laundry pile, cleaned off the couch, wiped off the changing table, cleaned off his hands,  and wiped off his entire back.

I wish he were as interested in the potty as he is with his own poo.

2Y7D: These teeth are made for chomping

Daniel has had teeth since he was 4 months old.  Unlike my daughter, who, at 3 months is already getting her canines, (I know, vampire baby)  D. got his teeth in the typical order.

And they are sharp.

And he eats paper.

Today he was chewing on a chunk of envelope.  He knows he isn't supposed to chew any paper like that because every time he does something he shouldn't, he looks at me with his charming smile and says: "Hi!"

I tried fishing out the spit ball (which you know is just a few months away) and he chomped.  Hard.

He's like an alligator, easier to keep his mouth closed than open.

I yelled so loudly, I scared myself.  But did he let go?  Oh no.  I really thought the "ow, oW, OW, OW, OW" would have have givin him the clue to let go... and...eventually, he did.

And left teeth marks.

Once I calmed down, I asked for "kisses for my boo-boo."  You know, like mommy's do.

What did he do?  That alligator reared back, bared his teeth, and clamped down once more.  I was horrified! I had to look to make sure he didn't draw blood.

What did I do?  I picked that green scaled animal up by his tail and, with all the reservation of an American Indian, put him in time-out.  In his room.  With the door shut.

We both took a time out.

And now I sit and think about how to deal with my paper chewing, alligator, biting child.

2 Years, 6 Days - Clothing Optional

We are all born into this world beautiful, soft, and naked (once we're cleaned up.)

For some reason, our Cro-Magnon ancestors decided to cover our parts and pieces, at least a little bit.  Aside from protection from the weather, it's hard to tell why. 

Today we are required to cover up, a law protects others rights from our indecent exposure.  But why?  We all have boobs, butts and nipples, right?

Alas, we cover up.

Daniel was dressed by his dad today in cute overalls:

He's going through a period where he doesnt like to wear clothing - especially pants.  He runs around the house and jumps on his bed.  Though cute as always, it's hard to take him to the park like this.
(I know, it's  a full diaper)

Then, when you try to catch the little guy, he slides off the bed and onto the floor:

Runs across the house and tries to take off his shirt in the process.  This day his disrobing antics were thwarted, and he was dressed once more.

He has also discovered that he has parts that feel good when touched.  Currently he is on a nipple kick, but he has also found interest inside the diaper.  Oh help us, this is just going to get worse.  I don't want him to feel badly, self conscious,  or embarrassed.  I suppose around here, clothing is optional only before bath time or when I'm too tired to put his pants back on.

Then again, maybe he doesn't like is diaper;  tonight he managed to take his diaper off without taking his overalls off. There were a few snaps unsnapped and POOF baby parts and pieces airing out inside his pants, and a diaper on the floor.

Brian thinks he's the David Copperfield of the baby world.